Staple setting machine



June 7,1949. DlDATo 2,472,469

STAPLE SETTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 1, 1947 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 AGENT June 7, 194-9. DIDATQ 2,472,469

STAPLE SETTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 1, 1947 2 Shets-Sheet 2 AGENT Patented June 7, 1949 UNITED STAT ES PATENT OFFICE STAPLE SETTING MACHINE- Thomas P. mam, Middlesex, N.- J.

Application February 1, 194-7, Serial No. 725,914"

7 Claims.

staple setting machines. It is particularly adaptable to machines used'to staple a group of gardenia leaves to a supporting piece in order that such an assembly may be used as abackground setting with the flower to enhance its appearance and improve its salability.

Gardenias are frequently sold singly to be worn asan adornment. As a background for the flower in a use of this description the natural leaves on the gardenia stem'do'not serve particularly'well' due to their position with respect to the flower. Also,-theleaves may be turned or broken or, a very beautiful flower may be combined on a stem having imperfect foliage, making it'undesirable.

Itis customary to overcome these deficiencies by selecting suitable leaves for the flowers and stapling a group of-perfect leaves in a radiating pattern attached to a supporting center or hub. The support or hub usually consists'of a disc of paper boa-rd about two inches in 'diameterhaving a'centrally'disposed circular opening permitting itto be threaded over a fiowerstem stripped of its natural foliage. In addition'to' providing a more satisfactory background, this assembly of leaves with their supporting piece tends to straighten out the under side petals of thefiower which are closest to the stem resulting in a flower which appears to" be a larger and more' beautiful growth.

The leaves and the center support have, in thepast, been assembled by stapling them-together with a hand stapler of the kind which are sold as deskor ticket staplers. "Ihis ls 'aslow and costly procedure particularly when'there' are as' many as fi ve leaves to befastened to a single center support. Furthermore;- a considerableamount of practice and skill are required to properly place the leaves and-to-staple them inthe correct angular spacing;

With the foregoing introductory'explanation in mind, it is the principal object of this-invention to provide-equipment for'stapling a group of "radially disposed leaves to a center supporting piece in a single'staplingoperation-with greater accuracy and speed than-has heretofore been possible with-a single'stitch stapler. Aiurther ob-" ject of the inventionis toprovide a multiple stapling device for I the purpose described which may be constructed with commercially avail-- able 'materials which are machined according to accepted standards on conventional machine tools.

Staples must not project through the leaves 2, and support havingstheir bent-over ends at the underneath portionJof the-leaf lest they tear or catch :in clothing. In *the'preferred physical em? bodimentof my invention, I therefore provide for thestaple to be'set' with its-ends turnedovejr against thetopside ofth'e leaves. Inasmuch as the flower petals cover' the staples, there is no disadvantage from an appearance standpointin" so doing. v T

I provide a'plurality ofstapler heads arranged on a plane support and radially disposed'with respect to acommoncenter. At" the center I use a locatingpin to guide the paper board center support'and provide -for' the leaves to'be arranged there-over in overlapping relationship with the support; A multiple' clincher carrier is arranged to be brought down to bear 'against'the stapler heads whereby each staple is engaged and forced through" both thessuppo'rt and the leaves and is thereafter set on the'top'sideof theleaves.

While Idescribezzmyxinvention particularly as it appliesto'use with "flowers; there may be other similar uses to which 'it'may'b'e put Where step ling is required on work pieces radially disposed with respect to a center, an'd'the invention" is not considered to be restricted to any one particular use, being equally adaptable for use'with other'materials;

In the drawings,

Figurezl:is'aa topplanview ofthe machine of my invention showing; the general arrangement of parts,

Figure 2 is a:sideelevation'view, partially in cross-section; of the assembled machine,

Figure'3sis an enlarged fragmentary cross-sec tion view'showing detailsof'my-machine with parts arranged ata. particular position in itsoperation,

Figure 4 is a plan view showing the-underside of the anvil used to set staples,

Figure 5 is atransversesectionview through the clincher carrier rodtaken on lines 55 of Figure 2,

Figures. 6 and. '7 are plan..views of the work pieces processed .withmy machine, and

Figure 8 is aplanview showing .the assembly of a flower with the product of my invention.

Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals are used to describe like parts, in Figure 1, a rectangular "metal base I0 provides a plane surface for removeably assembling thereto a plurality of stapler heads ll in'a radially disposed grouping with a-common center. In the par-' ticular embodimentshown'thereare five such stapler heads having=1 their longitudinal center lines uniformly angularly spaced 72 apart. e inwardly disposed front surfaces of the five heads give the appearance of a pentagon, and the outwardly extending ends l3 are rigidly fastened to base l with the use of hollow hexagon cap screws The stapler heads may be of a conventional style similar in many respects to the heads on staplers used for desk work, as described in U. S. Patent No. 2,227,314 to Maynard. Figure 3 includes an enlarged view of one of the five identical heads arranged with the stapling end inward toward the center and with the staple legs directed upwardly. The supporting member I3 located on the outwardly extending end of stapler head II is fastened to base ID by means of screw I 4 and is hinged with a pair of relatively moveable arms I5 and IS. The lower arm l5 rests directly on the base ID to resist stapling pressure and, afiixed theretois a locating pin I! which is insertable in a suitable hole in the base l0. Pin H, in combination with the supporting screw l4 on the member l3, maintains the stapler head in radial alignment with respect to the machine center. The hinge construction at l8 permits the arms l5 and IE to swing upwardly away from the base for cleaning the surface of the base thereunder, and for convenience in staple clip loading.

The lower arm l5 carries the staple driver l9 which extends to the right of locating pin I! to form a leaf spring 20 which maintains the upper arm It at a prescribed angular location with respect to the lower arm l5 for staple feeding. The upper arm l6 carries a clip of preformed staples 2| with staple legs disposed upwardly and it includes a suitable spring pressure device 22 to urge the staple clip 2| to the left whereby the end of staple clip 2| will be located at the throat of the stapler guide directly above the staple driver I 9. Details of the stapler head are not further elaborated upon here inasmuch as these implements are well known in the art and are commonly used for attaching papers and other sheets and for otherwise stitching together various objects.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3 the large metal bracket 23 rigidly fixed to base Ill provides an overhanging bearing support 25 for the ho]- low clincher carrier rod 24 which is vertically slidable normal to the plane of the stapler heads II on a line which intersects this plane at the common stapler head center. Rod 24 is normally restrained upwardly with respect to the bracket by means of the coiled compression spring 26 which is interposed between plate 21 resting on the top surface of bearing section 25 and the underneath surface of the plunger handle 29 which is pinned to the upper end of the rod. The extent of upward movement of rod 24 is regulated by the abutment of boss 30 on the clincher carrier 3| against the under surface of bearing 25, and it is arranged so that there is no obstruction to the manipulation of work pieces or to the operators vision of work placed in position for stapling and so that stapling head arms l5 and [B may be hinged upwardly without mechanical interference.

Referring to Figure 5, the clincher carrier rod 24 is restrained from turning in the bearing 25 by the association of the bifurcated guide plate 21 which engages the flats 32 on opposite side of rod 24. The plate 21 is fixed in place by screw 28 and the radial fastening slot 33 provides for 4 fine angular adjustment of rod 24 as will be understood later in the specification.

Referring again to Figure 3, the clincher carrier Si is threadedly fixed to the lower end of rod 24 and is concentric therewith and may be given a coarse fixed angular adjustment with respect to the rod by means of lock nut 34. Five identical clinchers 35 are provided, each of which has a suitable groove 36 for bending and setting the staple legs, each clincher being fastened to carrier 3| by means of a knurled head screw 31 and secured from turning with a pair of dowel pins 38. The clinchers are arranged in a plane which is parallel to the plane of stapler heads Ii and, as shown in Figure 4, in a radial pattern which is identical for angularity with the radial arrangement of staple heads H on base l0, having their longitudinal centers spaced uniformly 72 apart and positioned with respect to their common center so that grooves 36 will align themselves with and clinch the end staples in the staple clips 2| which, during stapling, will be engaged by the staple drivers I9.

The locatin pin 39 is given a press fit into a hole in base It at the common center of the radially disposed heads II with a shoulder thereon formed by the major diameter portion 40 resting snugly against base Ill. The minor diameter portion 4| at the top of pin 39 extends for a distance upwardly from the base to enter and guide the hollow clincher carrier rod 24 as this rod is moved downwardly against the pressure of coil spring 26. Pin 39 also serves as a centering fixture for the paper board supporting piece 42, shown in phantom in Figure 3, which is fitted over and slidable on the pin with its outer portion resting on the five stapling head arms l6, and extending a short distance beyond the end staple in the staple clip 2|. The major diameter portion 49 of pin 39, on its upper shouldered surface, also acts as a stop to limit the travel of rod 24 downwardly during a staplin operation.

The apparatus described may be conveniently supported on a bench or table for operation and the base legs are so provided. A center boss 45 integral with the base and projecting downwardly to the bench or table gives additional support at the location of stapling stress. It may also be desirable to add resilient pads as shown adhering on the surface of legs 45 and boss 46 to prevent sliding and to protect any finished surface on which the equipment is placed.

When setting up the machine for operation, the clincher carrier 3| should first be coarsely adjusted by means of the lock nut 34 to align the clincher grooves 36 in their proper position with respect to the stapling heads. If fine adjustment is required, the bifurcated plate 21 may be turned slightly angularly in one direction or the other and locked in place.

Assuming that the stapler magazines in heads I I are loaded with stapling clips 2|, a paper board supporting disc 42, which is shown separately in Figure 6, is first placed over the centering pin 39 as shown in Figure 3. Selected leaves 50 may then be arranged with their top sides upward and resting on the upper arms I6 or heads I I. Pressure is then exterted on the plunger handle 29 and the clincher carrier is moved down to first clamp the work pieces between the inwardly disposed ends of arms l5 and clinchers 35. Continued downward movement against the additional pressure of leaf springs 20 moves the arms l6 downwardly so that the drivers I9 will each engage a staple simultaneously and force its legs or prongs through the disc 42 and leaves 50 Whereafter the staple legs will be bent inwardly and clinched by grooves 36. When th plunger handle is released and returns to its normal upward position, arm l6 separates from arm l5 permitting the staple clips 2| to move toward the center in their respective magazines and presenting a new group of staples for a subsequent operation. Figure 7 shows the combined disc and the leaves as they are taken from the machine after the staples have been set.

While I have described these steps in a manner which presents the impression of a relatively slow operation, this is not actually the case. In practice, th operations of setting work pieces and stapling take place very rapidly, particularly as compared to single leaf stapling.

I claim:

1. In a stapling machine, in combination, a horizontal support, a plurality of radially disposed magazine stapling heads carried by said support, and a plurality of staple clinchers moveable vertically with respect to said support to simultaneously clinch a plurality of staples at the stapling heads.

2. The method of preparing an assembly of leaves with a center support which comprises, locating a paper board support centrally with respect to a group of radially disposed stapler heads, placing leaves in a radial pattern on said stapler heads in overlapping relationship with said paper board support, and simultaneously stapling each leaf to the paper board support.

3. In a stapling machine, in combination, a support, a plurality of stapling heads having a common planar setting on said support and radially disposed with respect to a common center, and a plurality of staple clinchers having the same radial disposition with respect to a separate common center moveable with respect to said support to simultaneously clinch a plurality of staples at the stapling heads.

4. In a stapling machine, in combination, a support, a plurality of magazine stapling heads carried by said support and radially disposed with respect to a common center, hinge means to swing the stapling heads away from the common center of said stapling heads, and means attached to said support for simultaneously clinching a plurality of staples at the stapling heads.

5. In a stapling machine, in combination, a support, a plurality of radially disposed magazine stapling heads carried by said support, clincher means moveable normally with respect to said support for simultaneously clinching a plurality of staplers at the stapling heads, and a spring retained plunger rod integral with said clinching means for operation thereof.

6. In a stapling machine, in combination, a support, a plurality of stapling heads having a common planar setting on said support and radially disposed with respect to a common center, a plurality of staple clinchers having the same radial disposition with respect to a common center movable with respect to said support to simultaneously clinch a plurality of staples at the stapling heads, and a guide for aligning the staple clinchers with the stapling heads during movement of the staple clinchers.

7. In a stapling machine, in combination, a support, a plurality of magazine stapling heads having a common planar setting on the support and radially disposed with respect to a common center, a centering fixture carried by the support for locating a. work-piece concentrically with respect to said common center, and a plurality of radially disposed staple clinchers movable with respect to said support to simultaneously clinch a plurality of staples at the stapling heads.

THOMAS P. DIDATO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 187,843 Goodhue Feb. 27, 187'! 276,430 Lambert Apr. 24, 1883 680,721 Locke Aug. 20, 1901 696,466 Morgan Apr. 1, 1902 1,561,455 Bertona Nov. 17, 1925 2,380,746 Gage July 31, 1945 

